Friday, October 19, 2012
MIDWAY
Midway is an upcoming documentary about an ecological tragedy unfolding on Midway Atoll in the Pacific: tens of thousands of baby albatross lay dead and dying, victims of starvation after mistakenly eating plastic trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (trailer). Photographer Chris Jordan began documenting the plight of the albatross back in 2009 with a heartbreaking photo series “Midway: Message from the Gyre.” Jordan subsequently began expanding the project to a feature length documentary, and raised more than $100,000 via a Kickstarter project this summer (donations are still being accepted on the film website). The film is currently in production, and is expected to be released in 2013.
Spirit Day
So today was spirit day and I of course wore purple today in support of the LGBTQ+ community on campus. I was also informed, just now, by the advocate of the many media celebrities that are wearing or wore purple today. Also encouraging was the number of organizations and sports teams that are going or went purple today to show support.
However I want to express some feelings that I have long had about spirit day. I love the idea that spirit day has, of being a way of showing support to LGBTQ+ youth. That the idea that the world gets better, that suicide is really and truly as ridiculous as giving broccoli out on Halloween, and that there are all these people out here that support them is spread around is fantastic!... That is not what I want to criticize. What I want to criticize is both the lack of participation and the complete politicization of the occurrence. I recognize that there are people out there in the world that aren't fans of equality, that don't like the LGBTQ+ community and are most likely never going to adopt healthy attitudes to anything regardless of what we do. They're the people that I could care less about because they are not rational people and consider everything but corduroy couch cozies a sin they are not going to be convinced to change their opinion by people such as myself. Who I'm talking about are the people at the margins of the debate. The people whose support could really magnify the inherent need for equality under the law that is lacking for the LGBTQ+ community that really should be there. These are people like parents of LGBTQ+ youth; like the elderly who are our ardent supporters; like teachers, professors, faculty and staff at schools, colleges and universities across the country; these are our healthcare providers and emergency services staff like first responders and; we need people from every cultural background to reach deep into the depths of their closets and pull out whatever hideous [or lovely] shade of purple that they have and wear it. Because in all reality we can wear purple, and see all the same people who just as ardently support LGBTQ+ equality wear purple, but that is not going to help anyone because there is no progress, no economic growth within our struggle because our labor market is staying the same. We need these people at the margins to create change because these are the people who can make the most change. These are the people who aren't ardent supporters of equality, but their support is just as passionate and just as meaningful. These are the people in both mainstream political parties working for LGBTQ+ rights [even though I think both are ridiculous and unhelpful] and that are on the lines with people that can most benefit from the slow osmosis of equality.
On that stream of thought I would like to break to my other qualm with what I saw today in the media and through my experience. There is this conception that the fight for LGBTQ+ equality is single sided. That the Democratic party is the party that has our best interest at heart and that we need to vote for President Obama because he is a democrat. There is this idea that people in the Republican party are misogynistic, that they hate equality of any kind, that they are beyond reason and that they are greedy beyond belief. We think that because we see a perception in the media of such hatred towards Women, Hispanics/Latinos/Chicanos, African American/Blacks*, LGBTQ+, First Nation People, the poor, etc... that it must be true of all people in the party. But I have met so many people that prescribe to the Republican party that don't believe in the same way. I have met some very eloquent persons who seek to create environments that foster the growth of our nation into the Isles of the Blessed. So I don't think we should harp on our Republican allies because of the choice of their party. If we are truly fighting for equality then we should harp on them for their policies regarding our brothers and sisters in the fight. We should ask for them to end racist policies regarding immigration and we should demand an end to class within our society. Because no one has rights while others lie in the chains of slavery; the more injustice we let pass the closer we get to having injustice committed against ourselves. And yes these are things that need to be seen in our community - a stronger tie being built with our allies in the fight for equality and apologize for the wrongs we have committed against them (from racism, sexism, cultural appropriation, religious bigotry, and all other forms of insensitivity) - and a political community of communal respect and communalism that has a House, Senate, Governmental Agencies, and all public works awash in clouds of purple.
We are a nation of people that believe strongly in the greatness that we can create. We know that any challenge can be overcome through our work. But it is time that we recognize that we are no longer the stream that fought injustices in the 1900s - that it is time to create a true nation, a nation that does not simply value equality, but HAS equality.
Happy Spirit Day
-Ehahlil
* I've included the term "Black" because I was told that for some the term "African American" does not capture their experience because of various reasons including 'African Diaspora' and inherent racisms structurally within our systems of government. I apologize if it happens to offend anyone, but it will remain.
Ted Haggard Says Same Sex Marriage Should Be Legal In States | Advocate.com
Ted Haggard Says Same Sex Marriage Should Be Legal In States | Advocate.com
I am glad that we are reaching a point where people are realizing that equality is not something to be considered special, but something that is a foundation of any form of government that wants to last. I believe that homophobia "produces its own gravediggers" and from it we will see a society that doesn't need to value marriage equality because it will have marriage equality. That it will instead value the continuation of marriage equality in the same way we value the continuation of marriage.
I am glad that we are reaching a point where people are realizing that equality is not something to be considered special, but something that is a foundation of any form of government that wants to last. I believe that homophobia "produces its own gravediggers" and from it we will see a society that doesn't need to value marriage equality because it will have marriage equality. That it will instead value the continuation of marriage equality in the same way we value the continuation of marriage.
New Voting Video Critiquing Mitt Romney
We all can see from the news and recent public speeches the Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan [along with the mainstream republican and tea party] are no defenders of individual rights, civil rights, human rights, freedom, or women's rights. But a group of women have decided to drive the lack of protection for women home in this video:
The Need for Patent Reform
"Learning about Patent laws is a very tedious project", said my economic law professor when we were learning about the subject a few weeks ago. And it seems that most of my classmates agree with him. Sometimes I myself am tempted to agree with him and set myself along the same path as they are within either the spheres of strict patent laws or no patent laws. However I am not convinced by either of the arguments. Because where one lacks in humanity the other lacks in spirit; where one would seek to bind us to laws unflinchingly the other would be the ender of an epoch prematurely. I am not a person of anarchy, I am rather fond of structure. However I feel like all things exist within a natural structure and all social sciences strive to rationalize the natural structure. So that the philosophy and theory of something always arrive after their focus of study, and so does the structure they place find and then place upon it. And while I do not think patents are a bad thing, I am not going to say that they are a good thing. I think that in fact it is our understanding and laws regarding them that is corrupt. We seek to patent things to raise enough funds to staunch our bleeding hearts as they tear themselves apart over our actions while we allow things that encourage bad behavior to become common place. Can patents not be reformed to allow for the wealth of society to flourish? How can we do this? Why to keep the economic model that we as a nation have adopted from doing its job?
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